Polishing attachments for vacuum cleaner



Feb. 12, 1957 F. A.'GALL 2,780,819

POLISHING ATTACHMENTS FOR VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 44 4| 1 :5 INVENTOR. v 5 Francis A. Gall WITNESS 52 82' BY y [4 W mL' AT TOR VE Y Feb. 12, 1957 I F. A. GALL 2,780,819

1 POLISHING ATTACHMENTS FOR VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENT 0R.

Francis A. 60// WITNESS BY ZAQ L ATTORNEY POLISHING ATTACHMENTS FOR VACUUM CLEANER Francis A. Gall, Bound Brook, N. 3., assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 8, 1954, Serial No. 414,836 3 Claims. (Cl. -49) This invention relates to floor type vacuum cleaners, and more particularly, to polishing attachments adapted to be connected to and driven by the motor of this type vacuum cleaner.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide an improved polishing attachment adapted for use with floor type vacuum cleaners.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified means for securing a polishing attachment to a lloor type vacuum cleaner.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for positioning a polishing attachment within the mouth of a vacuum cleaner.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinatter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements of parts hereinafter set. forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner from which the lower casing shell has been removed and to which the polishing attachment of the present invention has been secured.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the vacuum cleaner and polishing attachment shown in Fig. 1, r

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the combination s'hield and brush support which forms a part or the polishing attachment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and v I I Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the polishing brush shown in Figs. 1 and 2. I

The vacuum cleaner, to which the polishing attachment of the present invention is shown attached, is clearly illustrated in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,532,432, 2,540,178 and 2,649,609. Therefore, suffice it to say that the vacuum cleaner 10 comprises an ambulatory chassis or casing formed from an upper easing shell '12 and a lower casing shell (not shown); The lower casing shell when attached to the upper gasing shell joins the upper casing shell along an inclined plane designated by the numeral 14, and the lower casing shell, when installed, securely held to the upper casing shell by a latch 16. Thejl'atch 16, which is fully described in -Patent No; 2,532,132, includesamohg other elements a long fiat spring 24 and a bent wire hook 25, the center of the spring 24 being provided with a downwardly projecting U-shaped bend 26. The ends of the spring 24 are clamped to the upper casing 12 by means of ribs 28-28 which project from a combination motorfan unit 29, the motor-fan unit 29 and the ribs 28 being held to the upper casing shell 12 by means of screws 30, 31, 32. The hook is formed integral with and at one end of a straight wire portion 33 which enters and is supported by the U-shaped bend 26 of the spring 24. The other end of the straight wire portion 33 is formed integral with a handle portion 36. The free end of the book 25 is provided with an upturned end 38.

tates Patent I When the vacuum cleaner 10 is operated to clean floors, it rides on rear wheels 4141 rotatably carried by an exhaust duct 42 forming a part of the motor-fan unit 29 and a pair of front wheels (not shown) carried by the lower casing shell (not shown).

The vacuum cleaner is also provided with the usual propelling handle 43, dust collecting bag 44, and fans 4545. One end of a shaft 46 of the mot0r-fan unit 29 is provided with a pulley 47 which drives a belt (not shown) normally adapted to drive the rotary dusting brush (not shown) of the vacuum cleaner 10. When, however, the vacuum cleaner is converted into a floor polisher by use of the device of the present invention, an elastic belt 48 especially adapted to drive a special polishing brush roll 49 is driven by the pulley 47. The polishing brush 49 is made from a wooden or plastic roller 51 rotatably carried by bearings 50-50 on a shaft 52, the roller 51 being provided with a large number of radially extending tufts 53 of conventional form, the tufts being omitted over a circumferential area 54 which is properly grooved for contact by the driving belt 48.

in order to provide a means for supporting the polishing brush 51 and at the same time to provide a means for preventing wax used in the polishing operation from being drawn into the fans 45 i5 and other parts of the vacuum cleaner, there is furnished a shield or mask 61 comprising a substantially plane top wall 62, a front wall 63 having a lower outwardly curved brim 64, a rear wall 66 having a lower strengthening bar 67, and two end members 68 and 68'. Various portions of the shield or mask 61 are apertured, thereby permitting the shield to be readily insorted into a downfacing cavity 69 formed in the upper shell 12. Also the shield 61 may be connected to the upper casing shell lZ of the vacuum cleaner. For example, the top wall 62, front wall 63 and rear wall 66 are provided with a U-shaped aperture 71 which permits the shield to fit over a downwardly extending protuberance 72 formed on the inner surface of the upper casing shell 12. The protuberance 72 has a hole 73 that accommodates an electric cord 74 which feeds an electric lamp (not shown) but fully described in Patent No. 2,575,554. The top wall 62 and the rear wall 66am provided with an L-shaped aperture 76. The rear wall 66 is provided with a straight aperture 77 for accommodating the belt 43,.

which drives the brush roll 49 from the pulley 47. The walls 68 and 68' are provided with recesses 78-78 each having anopen end for receiving the two ends of the shaft 52 of the brush roll 49. The end walls 68 and 68' are also provided with discontinuous ribs 79-79, which lie erpendicular to the recesses 78-78 and the ribs are indented so as to extend into the shield 61. These ribs 79-79 help to strengthen the end walls 686-S' and at the same timeprovide a means for holding the brush roll 51 in the shield 61. This is accomplished because the distance between the bearings Sit-50' on the shaft 52 is slightly greater than the distance between the inner cenve'x surfaces or the ribs 7979. Thus the shaft 52 must be snapped past the ribs 79 7 9' in order to reach the iimerend of the r cesses 78' 7a'. It will he noted that the free portions]? the end walls 68 and 68f, arec'ur away in a curved formation as indicated at iii-er, thereby allowing the tufts 53 of the brush roll 49 to protrude beyond the shields 68 68. It will also be noted that the shields 6868' adjacent to the intersection of the rear wall 66 with the end walls 68 and 68 are provided with offset angled formations 8282. These offset formations are provided in order that the shield 61 may fit adjacent to a pair of protruding corners 83 and 83' formed on the inner face of the vacuum cleaner cavity 69. A portion of the body of the shield 61 which is cut out to form the L-shaped aperture 76 is formed outwardly from the top wall 62, thereby furnishing a lug 84 which contacts the inner surface of the vacuum cleaner when the shield 61 is properly positioned in the cleaner. Also a J-shaped hook member 86 is riveted to the outer surface of the rear wall 66. This hook 86 is engaged and held by the previously described latch 16 when the latch is moved to the proper position by the handle 36.

When it becomes desirable to convert the vacuum cleaner herein described from a standard vacuum cleaner to a floor polishing machine, the lower casing shell, not shown, but fully disclosed in Patent No. 2,649,609 is removed and the floor polishing adaptor of the present invention is secured to the downwardly open mouth portion of the upper casing shell 12. This is accomplished first, by placing the belt 48 around the untufted portion 54 of the brush roll 51. Then the belt 48 is threaded through the aperture 77 in the rear wall 66 of the shield 61, the shaft 52 is placed in recesses 78 and 78', and the shaft 52 is snapped past the ribs 79 and 79'.

Thereafter the shield 61 is inserted into the downwardly open cavity 69 of the upper casing shell 12 in such a manner that, (l) the top wall 62 of the shield (Fig. 1) lies just below the upper wall of the upper casing shell 12, (2) the lug 84 lies adjacent to an inclined portion of the upper casing shell 12, (3) the brim 64 lies along an inside curved surface of the upper shell 12, and (4) the aperture 71 fits over the protuberance 72. In order to securely fasten the shield 61 to the upper casing shell 12, the handle 36 of the latch 16 is operated in such a manner that the end 38 of the latch 16 engages the J-shaped hook 86. As the handle 36 is moved the latch 16 tensions the fiat spring 24 in the same manner as described in Patent No. 2,532,432. This assures that the shield 61 will be firmly held to the upper casing shell 12. Then the elastic belt 48 is stretched over the pulley 47, thereby causing the brush roll 51 to press the two ends of the shaft 52 into the ends of the recesses 7878'.

The polishing attachment may be removed from the vacuum cleaner by removing the belt 48 from the pulley 47 and by disconnecting the latch 16 from the lug 86. Thereafter the shield 61 and the brush roll 51 may be re moved and a cleaning brush (not shown) reinstalled in the cleaner.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. Ina vacuum cleaner having an upper casing shell provided with a downfacing cavity, an electric motor, a drive shaft for said motor, a pulley on one end of said shaft, and a latch carried by said upper casing shell; a polishing attachment located in said cavity and secured to said upper casing shell, said polishing attachment comprising a shield having a top wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two end walls, each of said end walls being provided with a recess having an open end and a discontinuous indented rib, said ribs extending perpendicular to said recesses and intersecting said recesses between the open and closed ends thereof; a shaft passing through said recesses and held therein by said ribs; a J-shaped hook member held to the outer surface of said rear wall and engaged by said latch; a brush roll rotatably carried on said shaft; and a belt driving said brush roll from said pulley.

2. In a vacuum cleaner having an upper casing shell provided with a protuberance and a downfacing cavity, an electric motor, a drive shaft for said motor, a pulley on one end of said shaft, and a latch carried by said upper casing shell; a polishing attachment located in said cavity and secured to said upper casing shell, said polishing attachment comprising a shield having a plane top wall, a front wall of which one edge has an outwardly turned curved brim for engaging the inner surface of said cavity, a rear wall having one edge reinforced by a strengthening bar, and two end walls each of which has a curved edge, said top, front and rear walls being provided with a common aperture which is U-shaped in form to accommodate the protuberance on said casing shell in said cavity, said rear wall being provided with a straight aperture, and each of said end walls being provided with a recess having an open end and a strengthening rib; a J-shaped hook member riveted to the outer surface of said rear wall and engaged by said latch; an axle, the two ends of which are carried in said recesses in said end walls; a brush roll rotatably carried on said axle; and a belt driving said brush roll from said pulley on said motor shaft, said belt extending through said straight aperture in said rear wall and easing said brush roll to assist in holding said axle in said recesses.

3. In a vacuum cleaner having an upper casing shell provided with a protuberance and a downfacing cavity, an electric motor, a drive shaft for said motor, a pulley on one end of said shaft, and a pivoted latch carried by said upper casing shell; a polishing attachment located in said cavity and secured to said upper casing shell, said polishing attachment comprising a shield having a substantially plane top wall, a front wall of which one edge has an outwardly turned curved brim for engaging the inner surface of said cavity, a rear wall having one edge reinforced by a strengthening bar, and two end walls each of which has a curved edge, said top, front and rear Walls being provided with a common aperture which is U-shaped in form and adapted to accommodate the protuberance in said cavity on said casing shell, said top and rear walls being provided with a common aperture which is L-shaped in form, said rear wall being provided with a straight aperture, and each of said end walls being provided with a recess having an open end and strengthening rib; an offset angled formation located at the junction of said rear wall and the two end walls; an outwardly extending lug formed from a portion of the shield material bent outwardly from said L-shaped aperture, and said lug engaging the inner surface of said cavity; a J-shaped hook member riveted to the outer surface of said rear wall and engaged by said latch; an axle, the two ends of which are carried in said recesses in said end walls; a brush roll rotatably carried on said axle; and a belt driving said brush roll from said pulley on said motor shaft, said belt extending through said straight aperture in said rear wall and causing said brush roll to assist in holding said axle in said recesses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,614,680 Odell Jan. 18, 1927 1,713,184 Lang May 14, 1929 1,731,140 Lang Oct. 8, 1929 1,795,533 Wright Mar. 10, 1931 2,601,694 White July 1, 1952 

